Sticks and Stones
"Sticks and Stones"(stylized as Sticks + Stones (U.K. and Japan Version) and Sticks & Stones (U.S. Version)) is the debut studio album by British singer/rapper Cher Lloyd was released on November 7th, 2011 through Sony Music. The project marks the first official release from Lloyd since finishing fourth on The X Factor a year prior. Lloyd worked with various producers and songwriters for her first full-length release, including RedOne, Toby Gad, Max Martin , The Runners, Kevin Rudolf and Savan Kotchea, among others. Lloyd co-wrote five songs on the track lisiting. Lloyd herself called the album a "jukebox". Background and development After the finale of the seventh series of The X Factor, it was announced that Cher Lloyd had been signed by Sony Music. Songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer RedOne were soon rumoured to be working on Lloyd's debut album. On July 22, 2011, Lloyd previewed five tracks from the album during a UStream session, including tracks featuring Busta Rhymes, Mike Posner, Ghetts, Mic Righteous and Dot Rotten. In December, Cher made a remix of "Want U Back" with American rapper Astro. To promote Sticks and Stones, Lloyd will embark on her first concert tour, the Sticks And Stones Tour, beginning in March 25th 2012, visiting various venues across the UK. Critical reception Critical reception for the album has been mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a Normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an Average score of 47, based on 8 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The Sun stated: "It's a real mixed bag of an album, with some solid pop songs on the tracklisting. Cher's sound works best when it's light and poppy on songs Grow Up, End Up Here and Superhero – which remind you of early Lily Allen." All Music gave the album three out of five stars, they said'': "When Lloyd stops trying so hard, she's actually a pretty compelling pop star. "Want U Back" and "End Up Here" are both infectious examples of cutesy pure pop that recall Britney Spears''" adding "At times, Sticks + Stones sounds like such a calculated effort to copy everything that's hot in 2011 that it's likely to feel utterly irrelevant by the time the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve." BBC Music gave the album a positive review, they said: "Cher has a natural and charismatic vocal presence throughout" and ultimately called it "A sassy, splashy modern pop album that's much better than its dodgy lead single".Digital Spy awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "Want U Back", "With Ur Love", "Playa Boi" and "Grow Up" are all tracks worthy of downloading, and went on to praise "Dub on the Track" as "loaded with attitude that few could pull off". Virgin Media gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "Sticks + Stones is a very pleasant shock. It's sparky and restless and sustains Lloyd's mini rapping firebrand/cute crooner aesthetic through a quickfire run of 10 top-notch songs."MSN Music gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, they said: "first single 'Swagger Jagger' seems like a deliberate invitation to ridicule." "Current single 'With Ur Love', a plaintive slice of R&B-infused pop with a big fat shiny chorus, plays to her strengths far better. 'Beautiful People', a collaboration with Swedish pop-rockers Carolina Liar, similarly showcases her strong vocals, Cher Lloyd could yet emerge as a pop star with real longevity." Commercial performance The album debuted at number seven in Ireland. In the United Kingdom, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number four behind new releases of Susan Boyle, Florence And The Machine and Michael Buble. The album sold 55,668 copies in its opening week. As of June 2012, the album has sold 224,198 copies in the UK. Track listing Standard Edition UK Store bonus track UK iTunes Store bonus content Charts Release history Official song art Grow Up 1.jpg Want U Back 2.jpg With Ur Love 3.jpg Cher-lloyd-swagger-jagger.jpg Beautiful People 1.jpg Playa Boi 1.jpg Superhero 1.jpg Over the Moon 1.jpg Dub on the Track 3.jpg End Up Here 2.jpg UK Singles Cher-lloyd-swagger-jagger.jpg|Swagger Jagger (Released on July 29th, 2011)|link=Swagger Jagger With Ur Love.jpg|With Ur Love (ft. Mike Posner) (Released on October 28th, 2011)|link=With Ur Love want u back ft astro.jpg|Want U Back (ft. Astro) (Released on February 19th, 2012)|link=Want U Back Category:Discography Category:Studio Albums Category:Sticks + Stones Versions Category:UK Only Category:Albums